


FLUME

by ignis_kun



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Cold Weather, Gen, Loneliness, Tags Are Hard, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:11:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26470150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ignis_kun/pseuds/ignis_kun
Summary: Feeling alone in a room of people is an odd feeling.
Kudos: 7





	FLUME

Rantaro regrets coming to this party. 

Christmas was something he had tried to be back home for. It was never much of a celebration in his later years, the house had always felt too empty and there was a solemn overtone to the entire occasion. He had spent his last Christmas abroad, alone in the Dominican on a boat, staring up at a starry December sky and listening to the ebbing of the waves until he drifted off to sleep.

When he had been invited to this party however, he thought it would be different. He’d be surrounded by his classmates after all, and Hope’s Peak was supposed to be an opportunity for him. He’d pick up some kind of conversation or wallflower with someone else.   
  
Wallflowering, it’s what he’s used to. He’s never been the type of person to crave the spotlight or want everyone’s attention. He’s happy enough to sit on the sidelines, closer to the edges of the action, watching everyone talk to each other and maybe holding a few small conversations himself.

He comes alone, he leaves alone.    
  
He’s gotten a few waves and people greeting him, commenting they weren’t sure if he’d be back in time. There’s been a few short conversations that have quickly died down as other people have arrived. 

It’s an hour into the party, and everyone else has made their way towards a group of people or out the door in the case of Chasibara who got a drink spilt on her five minutes after she arrived.    
  
He usually finds somebody else hugging the wall as well and is able to strike up a bit of conversation, or will sit in comfortable silence with them. The adventurer has ended up spending several of these parties doing the latter.

He remembers on one occasion even holding a conversation with Hoshi. It had been short, and had ended up becoming something similar to those moments he shared with Harukawa most times where they wouldn’t say much to each other, but the initial focus had been on their classmates. It’s a conversation he remembers.

Conversation often feels shallow when all people want to know is about the latest thrill he’s experienced or the sights he’s seen. He brings them back souvenirs they ask for, shows them pictures, talks about the things he saw and the people he met. He enjoys talking about these things, no doubt, but the topic gets old when it’s always the main topic of discussion. 

He’s not invited to much of anything outside of class events. No personal meetings, nobody asking him if he wants to talk after class or go out on weekends. He bumps into people every so often, but there’s not much beyond that. 

People know of him, but they don’t  _ know him. _ He assumes that being partly his own fault, with how often he picks up his bags and leaves campus for trips. He never has a set schedule, and he’s a hard man to pin down at times

The most common first question he’s asked is how his trip was. He can’t remember the last time someone asked him how  _ he  _ was doing without asking about his recent travels. 

The fact that his last trip didn’t go well and he’s been trying to avoid talking about it has made him more aware than ever that he has nothing to bring to the table outside of that. Nobody is really interested in anything else. Small talk or just simple conversation that often turns to him asking about the other person or hearing them out on something. 

He doesn’t think he’s ever talked about himself to anyone here. He’s a listener far more often than he’s a speaker on matters of those sorts. Nobody ever asks, so he never brings it up. 

It feels everyone is more interested in the places he’s been than him as a person. He knows it’s true, but there’s a small part of him that still wants to believe that people would care if he were to stop showing up to class, or if he one day took off on his parent’s boat and never came back to Hope’s Peak. 

It rings true for the people outside of Hope’s Peak as well. He knows more people than he could count on several hands, but none of them were people he’d consider friends beyond a surface level. When he meets people while travelling, he only knows them for a short time. He maybe has a few good conversations with them before he leaves that place and moves onto the next.    
  
It’s rare that they ever speak to one another again unless he’s planning on being in the area again soon, even when he tries to stay in touch. Those interactions become relics of the past.    


  
  
He steps out the back gymnasium doors. He could use a bit of fresh air. He doesn’t notice anyone cast a glance his way as he leaves.    
  
He can see the fog coming from his breath and clouding up like small puffs of smoke. The snow crunches under his feet, his steps leaving small imprints where the cement below could be seen peeking through the powdery white. It’s much darker out here, the only light being a few lining the side of the school.  


The sound of a few cars passing by on the nearby road makes its way over with the small breeze along with the distant laughter from the party go-ers that is quickly cut off when the door slams shut behind him. 

It’s cold out. His coat was left in his dorm room when he headed down. No gloves, no scarf, no hat. He’s grown used to extreme temperatures, the chill here is nothing compared to Iceland or Alaska, but the temperature still sends goosebumps down his arms.

He spends a long time outside. He loses track of time after ten minutes of staring up at the moon backset by a black and starless sky.   
  


He feels just as alone out here in the cold and dark of the winter night as he did leaning against the wall in that gymnasium. 


End file.
